The Anatomy of Courage: The Classic Wwi Study of the Psychological Effects of War

Fear, and man's attempt to master it, is of eternal interest and just as significant today as when Moran, as a young medical officer, went to the trenches in 1914 to research the subject scientifically. He asked why a man can appear to be as brave as a lion one day and break the next and, crucially, "what can be done to delay or prevent the using up of courage?" First published in 1945, this early groundbreaking account of the psychological effects of war, recounted by means of vivid first-hand observation and anecdote, came at a time when shell-shock was equated with lack of moral fiber. In 1940, Moran became Churchill's doctor and his position as a one of history's most important war physicians was secured. His humane, considered observations, scientific analysis and proposed solutions constitute one of the great First World War sources. However, they are perhaps just as relevant to our own conflict-ridden times.


About the Author
Lord Moran was created 1st Baron Moran on Manton in 1943. During the 1914-18 war he was awarded the MC during the Battle of the Somme and the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valour for a raid. He was for twenty-four years the Dean of St. Mary's Hospital Medical School.

In 1945 he published The Anatomy of Courage. He became Winston Churchill's doctor in 1940, as the curtain was rising on one of the greatest dramas in our history, and from 1941 to 1950 he was also President of the Royal College of Physicians. In his war memoirs, Churchill called Moran "a devoted and personal friend" to whose "unfailing care I probably owe my life."